Ousman Sonko
Ousman Sonko is a former Gambian politician. He served as Interior Minister between 2006 and 2016 under the Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh. During this period he is suspected of taking part in acts of torture, including in detention centers.
Sonko was born in Serekunda. He had a career in the military, starting in 1989. He served as Inspector general of police before being appointed to Interior Minister. He was appointed as Interior Minister on 23 October 2006. On 19 September 2016 Sonko was replaced as Interior Minister by Momodou Alieu Bah.
In September 2016 Sonko fled to Sweden, applying for residency on 21 September. On 26 January 2017 Sonko was arrested in Switzerland, where he had been reportedly living since November 2016, after his request in Sweden had been denied. Sonko was arrested after the rights group TRIAL International filed a complaint against him on the basis of human rights violations. At the time of his arrest he was living in a center for asylum seekers. He was detained to investigate the allegations, initially for three months, and for another three months in May 2017.
